The price of a single apple has sparked a furious debate on social media after a young shopper passionately protested against paying $7 for the staple.
More than a million people saw the rant from TikTok user @via..li, who had just come out of an anonymous branch of Whole Foods.
The Boston-based influencer reached into her bag, grabbed the apple and her phone and left her followers in no doubt about her fury.
“I literally just shopped at Whole Foods and looked at this,” she said, holding up the offending fruit.
“Guess how much it costs. It’s an apple, it’s apparently called a fucking SugarBee apple and look at it.
More than a million people have seen the since-deleted video in which influencer @via..li passionately protested paying $7 for an apple.
The apple in question was purchased at an unidentified branch of the upscale Whole Foods store.
But the Whole Foods website suggests the apple would have to weigh 28 ounces to cost $7.
“The size of my palm. I thought it was probably two to three dollars. I scanned the motherfucker, I scanned him, seven fucking dollars, seven!’
She said she checked with store staff to make sure there had been no mistake and got reassurance that she had just paid the correct price.
“Really, what economy are we all living in that it costs seven dollars to buy an apple? » she asked.
“I could have sworn another apple like the one I bought didn’t cost seven fucking dollars.” Is that crazy, like seven dollars for a latte? ALL RIGHT.
“This apple better taste this good.”
The video, which has since been deleted, sparked some skepticism on the Whole Foods website, suggesting the apple in question was selling for $3.99 per pound.
The one purchased by the blogger should weigh 28 ounces to cost $7, but appears to fit comfortably in the influencer’s hand.
The average American household now spends $1,080 per month on groceries after two years of galloping inflation under Joe Biden which took a toll on household budgets.
But some initially criticized him for shopping at a high-end grocery store.
“Probably at a Whole Foods type place, buying apples picked by a vegan, washed in ice water, and blessed by hippie crystals under a planetary retrograde,” VidgyaG tweeted.
“Go to a Wally World and get one of our pesticide-filled apple bags for $3,” JC_Midwest suggested.
“The joke is on her,” sashakaka445 added, “She checked the price and bought it anyway.”
“Whole foods, duh!” » added @KeyserSmoze, “Look in the parking lot! Do you see the Maserati, Lamborghini, Bently and the Rolls-Royce?
“Really, what economy are we all living in that it costs seven dollars to buy an apple? “” she asked, “This apple better taste so good.”
“Find the store with the Fords, Chevys and Toyotas in the parking lot. $7 will get you a whole bag of apples.
“Your first and only mistake was shopping at Whole Foods,” Elle Henderson wrote. “I don’t know how someone who isn’t rich can afford to buy things that won’t prolong your life.”
Some had more sympathy.
“Seriously, this is not a gourmet apple, the price of food is exorbitant!” » » wrote ErinSpksLoudr.
The annual inflation rate fell to 3.5 percent from its peak of 9.1 percent in June 2022, but food prices remained stubbornly high.
In real terms, the prices of hundreds of basic food items have increased by more than 50% since 2019.
And some defended the store.
“Don’t buy premium apples at Whole Foods? Just bought 6 pounds of Fujis for a little over $7 this week,” KellyOwens9997 wrote.
Others have pointed out that the ‘SugarBee’ is one of the most expensive apples available in the world.
Created in Washington in the early 1990s, it is the result of an accidental cross-pollination between a Honeycrisp and another unknown variety.
“She needed a reason to make a rant video, that’s why,” Ken W suggested.
“Buy this apple for seven dollars, create a tiktok to complain about the apple and earn hundreds to thousands of dollars in return,” added another.
DailyMail.com has contacted Wholefoods and @via..li for comment.
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